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This weekend the WWE is taking over Dallas. The professional wrestling franchise is hoping to set an attendance record at Sunday’s WrestleMania. They’ve already broken the WWE record for number of tickets sold. If you’re surprised, don’t be. Texas actually has a long and storied history when it comes to pro wrestling.

But why is this such a big deal in Texas? Texas is about football, right? That may be more central to this discussion than you might think. Chris Low writes about college football for ESPN, and occasionally he writes about pro wrestling too, since there’s more of a connection between college football and pro wrestling than most folks realize.

“If you’re a good football player, you gotta be able to play with injuries and be a tough guy, physical. Wrestling’s the same way, you gotta be able to take a pounding.”

What you’ll hear in this interview:

– The link between college football and pro wrestling
– Some of the big names who have made the transition
– Which Texas school became a pipeline for pro wrestlers